Gwin Shadow, District 12 [Done]
Jun 16, 2012 16:35:52 GMT -5
Post by Boxy on Jun 16, 2012 16:35:52 GMT -5
~I'll never let you see~
~The way my broken heart is hurting me~
~The way my broken heart is hurting me~
Gwin Shadow. All right, you caught me. That's not my real name. It's what I've called myself for the past ten years, and I've almost completely forgotten my real name. But, since I have to be truthful, my actual name is Jeannette Kestril. I changed my name because I don't want people to know who I am. The Capitol would turn me into an Avox, I'm sure. You won't tell them, will you? Good. I'm sure I can trust you. I've also forgotten the date of my birth, but I think I'm 13 years old. Possibly 12. I live in the streets and allies of District 12, finding shelter and trading at the Hob, sometimes even stealing because I have no money. Also, if you haven't noticed yet, I'm a girl. I certainly hope you weren't under the impression that I was a boy. Well, now that the simple things are out of the way, how about I start talking about other things?Hello, there! I suppose your the person I need to talk to. You are? Great! Well, I've been instructed to tell you as much about myself as possible. Yes, the instructions are a little odd, but I have to follow them. After all, the Capitol does have complete control over the 12 Districts. Anyway, I really light to tell you my name. I'm
~I've got my pride and I know how to hide~
~All the sorrow and pain~
~All the sorrow and pain~
Okay, how about I start with my appearance? I won't be able to give specific things, like height and weight, but I can estimate. I've never measured any of those things in my life, and I never plan to. I'm short, I think. Just over five feet, that's as close as I can get to my exact height. I'm light in regard to weight as well. Honestly, I have no idea how much I weigh, but I know I'm underweight, almost enough that you can see my bones, but not quite. My legs take up more than half my body, so I I'm a really good runner, and I can move quickly through a crowded area. My short size also helps me to go unnoticed, so there's an even smaller chance that the Keepers will catch me. They don't know much about me, actually. In fact, some of them believe I'm dead. My face is found and child-like, making me look two or three years younger then I actually am. Another thing that helps me with my safety.
My eyes are shaped like half circles, giving the impression that I'm always smiling...if the only thing you can see are my eyes, that is. I don't often get a chance to look in a mirror, but sometimes I'll find a shard of glass on the ground or look at a puddle and see my reflection. Even then, the image is kind of blurry. I know my eyes are hazel colored. Brown, most people call it, only a lighter shade. My eyelashes are longer then most, and it almost looks like I've put on some time of makeup, but I haven't. I hate makeup, and even if I liked it, I'd never be able to buy it. Sometimes I actually wish my eyelashes were shorter. My face is a pasty yellow color, though I don't pay much attention to it. People often look at me with pity, bro ably because they think I'm ill or starving. The latter is true...most of the time.
My nose...I haven't looked at it for a while. I know it's rather large for my face, and it has a small bump where it finishes between my eyes. It's short, too. A short, bony nose, is what I'd call it. My bottom lip is thin, and so is my top one, but it's been pulled up toward my nose, so it looks bigger. Despite my yellowish complexion, my cheeks are always rosy from the cold wind that blows through the alleys. At least it gives some color to my face. My arms are sort of long, and my fingers also. It makes them good for picking locks and such, though I hardly ever use them for such purposes. My feet are tiny, so I can move around quietly without being noticed.
Oh my, I completely forgot to talk about me hair! Well, let's see. It's a pale brown color, and kind of messy, too. I have a small pair of scissors that I carry everywhere I go, and when my hair gets too long, I cut it myself. The end product isn't always as neat and tidy as I'd like it to be. Now, I think I'm also supposed to talk about what type of clothes I wear. I only have two pairs of clothes, and a few other things. Two pairs of pants, two T-shirts, and one pair of socks make up the two outfits. The shirts are both black, and the pants are jeans with a few rips at the knees. I've never been able to fix that. I also have a black cloak with a large hood, so I can keep my face hidden from people who get a little too curious. I only have one pair of shoes, but their a good pair, and since my feet haven't grown for the past three years, they have served me well. I'm sure I'll need a new pair soon.
~I'll do my crying in the rain~
I've also been instructed to tell you about my personality, so I'll get right on that. I should probably talk a bit about my name change, since the few people I know are always so interested in that. I chose the name Gwin Shadow because I like the name, and I'm like a shadow. I'm there, and then I'm gone. I know how to move around without being noticed. In general, I think I'm friendly, but cautious. I have to chose carefully who I can talk to. I've seen wanted posters of myself, but it's a photo from when I was five years old. I don't think anyone can recognize me now, but you can never be too careful. I have a few people I can trust, and around them, I'm pretty carefree. At least, that's what they say.
I went to school for four years of my life. I stopped after that. I only learned what I needed to know, like simple math, how to read and write, and a little bit of info on the Districts, the Capitol, the Hunger Games and the District industries. I know District 12's industry is coal. It's not hard to tall, because everyone's faces are smudged with black, and piles of the stuff are scattered all over the district, especially close to the mines. I'm not the sharpest when it comes to math and spelling, but I can plan things out, and steal without getting caught. I know how to get enough money to survive. I know how to get food. I know how to find shelter. All those things I know. Also, I know how to play with fire. Yes, I see you are confused already!
Let me explain. I'll get into better detail when I tell you about my past, but I'll give you a bit of information here, since you seem so interested. When I was seven, I learned how to play with fire. I discovered how to play tricks on the human eye. It took me another year before I had mastered the art, but when I had, that's when I began performing. I loved it, and it got me money. I could breathe fire, swallow it, and juggle three torches at once. Now I can juggle six, and everything looks realistic. I can run a finger through the flames, and I can set my cape up in flames. It's a spectacular show, especially at night. That's when I most often perform. At night, I can do better tricks, and it looks all the more fantastic. Not only that, but I really enjoy it. I love seeing the audience's reaction, and watching them gape in awe as I spew fire into the night sky. Sometimes, I'll perform a skit as well. I use things like old cloth, coal dust, dandelions, and a few other things to make customs and have a bit of makeup. Even with one person, I can act out scenes with three people in it. Sometimes I'll reenact a battle from the Hunger Games, or I'll get more magical, playing the part of an old wizard or a little girl who can fly. The audience loves it, it gets me money, and I adore performing. So, everyone ends up happy.
Now, before I end, I need to list a few bad things about myself, odd habits and quirks. That's right, I'm not just a happy little girl who walks around spitting out fire! One, I'm a liar. I lie easily, and I don't feel guilty. Most often I have to lie about my name, and my home and parents. I have called myself many different names other than Gwin. Mary, Hannah and Emily are among the dozen or so I've used. I've told extravagant tales of how my parents are out of the District, (which would actually be impossible, since travel between districts is forbidden), how my father was killed in a mine accident and my mother and I need money, how I'm a Wanderer and my parents taught me how to play with fire. Also, one of my quirks: I always carry around a small strand of rope. I love tying knots, and untying them, over and over and over. I bite by lip when I'm nervous, too. It's not that obvious. Also, unfortunately, I lick my lips whenever I lie. This does not help me when I'm telling many lies, because people quickly pick up on it. I've had a few close calls in the past. Well, now that that's out of the way, I'll finish off with a bit about my past.[/blockquote
~If I wait for cloudy skies~
~You won't know the rain from the tears in my eyes~
~You won't know the rain from the tears in my eyes~
As I said, I've forgotten the exact date of my birth, and I can't remember much about my past. I know I my parents weren't married. I was born, and I don't think I had any siblings, and parents stayed together for the next four years. My mom came down with pneumonia then, which I think is some kind of really bad cold. I'm not the smartest when it comes to science. Anyway, she died two months later, but I don't remember a single thing about her or her death. The very next day, my father plunked me down in my playpen, grabbed a sandwich, and left. He had a strange feeling that day, and it turned out to be telling me something, because he never came back. I stayed in my playpen for another day and have, half the time spent sleeping, the other half, crying and listening to my stomach growl. I wanted food. So, I decided to get out of the playpen. It wasn't that hard, because I was older than a baby, and I knew how to climb stuff. That's how I got out. I found an old apple core on the ground, and after climbing onto a chair, I found two slices of stale toast and peanut butter. I ate everything, core included. That's when I fell asleep, stomach full of food, and didn't wake up until the next night.
The door had been blown open due to the wind, and a chilly draft was blowing through the house. I climbed back up to the table and found a few pieces of food I had missed the day before, ate them, then started wandering around the house. I was cold, so I took my father's cloak from his room. Little did I know that it was the fire proof one he used at the mines. But I would never have noticed such things, and I was cold, so I took it with me. I also took a small box of matches, because I liked playing with all the little wooden sticks, and I could draw patterns in the dirt with them. I left the house that night, not sure where to go, but believing it all to be some sort of adventure. I realized in the morning I was wrong, for I was hungry and tired. I found some scraps in a garbage can, and slept in the alley. That was how I spent my life for the next three years, learning how to live on the streets. I discovered the market, and I learned to steal things from the Hob. I also discovered the matches could make fire. On the first night I lit a match, my cloak, (which I happened to be wearing), caught fire. That's how I found out it was fire proof.
I started to play with fire at the age of seven, I believe. I also began keeping track of the years by counting the number of reapings. There was one every year, so why not? Anyway, back to the point. I found two gallons of some kind of liquid in the alley, and because I was thirsty, I started drinking from one. At the time, I was so hungry, even the match sticks were starting to look like food. The bones in my face poked at the skin, and I looked like a little skeleton. In fact, they looked so good, I decided to eat one. Out of habit, I lit the end, not realizing it would burn my mouth. I stuck it onto my tongue, then screamed and grabbed the container of liquid. I poured it into my mouth, and the flame died out. I lay there for another hour, sobbing and crying and tenderly feeling my charred lips. To this very day I have dark scars from that moment. All I can remember is the white hot pain, and the tears, and the burning taste in my mouth. I didn't touch the matches for another month.
When I did, I had learned my lesson, and I kept a safe distance from the fire unless I was wearing my cloak. The first container of liquid had run out, and I opened the second one. I had lit a small match, and was holding it while I poured the liquid into a rusty old tin cup I had found a weak ago. I took a sip, and immediately spat it out. Then everything went by so fast. The flame on the match went out, and a ball of fire appeared before me. It took me quite a while to realize what had happened: the liquid was gasoline, which was why it tasted disgusting. When I spat it into the air, the fire on the match stick had moved from the match to the gasoline, giving the effect that I had breathed fire. I remembered all the other times I had done something with fire, and I tested them all, plus something new. If I put water on my hand, I could put it in the fire for a few seconds and not get burned. I could still feel the heat, but it didn't hurt as much. I learned how to control the fire, swallow it, breathe it, touch it. My first first performance was a disaster. I messed up the gasoline with the water, and my mouth was swollen shut for the next two weeks. From then on, I always put the two liquids in different types of containers. I practiced more and more, and when I was eight, I had my first real performance. I earned three dollars, and I bought a whole loaf of bread that lasted me the next two days. Life was great, and I even learned some acting skills. I never looked back to my past again. I never wanted to go back, back to my unmarried parents, to the father who ran away. I don't even think about them.
~You'll never know that I still love you~
~So though the heartaches remain~
~So though the heartaches remain~
Codeword: oDair
Coments/Other: If you look up fire breathing, fire eating, touching fire, and fire proof cloths, you'll see that all of her tricks are possible. ^^ She's doesn't have any special powers, just a really unique talent.
~I'll do my crying in the rain~
